Psychological Reports, 2006,99,681-690. O Psychological Reports 2006 ASSESSING OCCUPATIONAL STRESS, STRAIN, AND COPING FOR NORTH AMERICAN TEACHERS IN KUWAIT ' OTHMAN ALKHADHER AND HESSAH AL-NASER Kuwait University Summay.-In this study, differences in levels of occupational stress and strain ex- perienced by North American local (n = 24) and expatriate (n = 43) teachers working in Kuwait were investigated by married (n =34) and single status (n = 3 1) and by male (n = 30) and female (n = 47) sex. All teachers self-administered the Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised. No differences appeared among measures of stress or strain be- tween male and female teachers or between married and single teachers. However, locally hired teachers reported higher role insufficiency and interpersonal strain than expatriate teachers. Some significant differences in coping styles also appeared be- tween these groups. None of the measures used revealed any significant correlations between age and years of service. Job stress is the most common problem facing teachers (Kyriacou, 2001). While all jobs involve some degree of stress, the level of stress and strain among teachers is well documented (Kelly & Berthelsen, 1995; Tra- vers & Cooper, 1997; Kyriacou, 2000). Teaching may be one of the most potentially stressful occupations (Dunham & Varma, 1998). Kyriacou (2001) found that about one-quarter of school teachers regarded teaching as a very or extremely stressful job. Teachers can define their stress in terms of un- pleasant negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, tension, frustration, and depression resulting from aspects of their work (Kyriacou, 2001). Research has identified a number of stressors associated with teaching, such as a heavy workload, long working hours, poor status, poor pay, large amounts of pa- perwork, anxiety related to evaluation, and coping with changing job de- mands (Travers & Cooper, 1997; Male & May, 1998; Pithers & Soden, 1998; Lewis, 1999). North American teachers are attracted to work outside their home coun- try for various reasons: they may acquire more profitable or tax-free jobs abroad, they may be interested in learning about other cultures, or they may simply accept a job assigned by their employer. For whatever reason, the teacher must be psychologically and mentally prepared for the transition. In this paper, a local North American teacher is defined as an American or Ca- nadian citizen living permanently in Kuwait, whereas an expatriate is defined 'Address correspondence to 0 . Alkhadher, Ph.D., Psychology Department, P.O. Box 68168, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kuwait University, Kuwait or e-mail (alkhadher@kucOl.kuniv.edu. kw).